Tim Wyatt (West Yorkshire)

Project Description

Tim Wyatt is a journalist, writer, broadcaster, musician and actor with more than four decades’ experience in all sections of the media. A keen esotericist, he has been researching the Ageless Wisdom since the 1960s. He is a regular lecturer at TS lodges throughout England and also runs the School of Applied Wisdom at Leeds Lodge. He is co-founder of the esoteric publishing house Nosegay Books. A current member of the National Council, he is a former member of the National Executive and company secretary of Tekels Park.

He is a former BBC, ITV and Sky reporter and an award-winning documentary film maker. He currently is a freelance writer and founder of the new music production company and label Hummadruz Records.

Please note that each talk I give tends to be individual and tailor-made for the particular event, so if your Lodge wants something (based on the existing talks below) that can easily be arranged.

Why am I here & where am I going?

Religions, science and modern materialism teach us little or nothing about the true purpose of live on Earth. Hidebound by ideology, superstition and narrow-mindedness religions have replaced spiritual discovery with dead orthodoxy. Science, too, still largely excludes non-physical realities from its worldview. For a great many people the accumulation of wealth, status and other dubious glamours provide the only meaning for existence.

The Ageless Wisdom – theosophy – provides a fresh, fascinating and persuasive perspective on those big questions in life: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? And why? This perennial philosophy teaches that we are all on an eternal evolutionary journey through many realities – physical and non-physical. Our many lives in physical bodies are only one part of the story.

Route maps to the hidden realms

Even science admits that it cannot see much of the physical universe it spends so much time studying. It uses amorphous and meaningless terms such as dark matter and dark energy to describe what it can neither see, understand nor explain. For millennia theosophy has promoted a far more wide-reaching and plausible explanation of the constitution of the universe and human beings involving these subtle energies and invisible realities.

Theosophy teaches that the physical world we inhabit is simply the densest of a number of planes of existence. And yet even from a restricted Earth-bound perspective with appropriate knowledge and experience we can still potentially access those more elevated planes of existence. Crucial to the Ageless Wisdom is the notion that answers to big questions lie not outside us but within.

Weapons of the Spiritual Warrior

We’re not talking nukes, tanks, AK-47s or even cyber-attacks. We’re not talking psy-ops, warships, cruise missiles or grenades. We’re not even talking about war in the normal sense of the word. Our theme is the eternal struggle between good and evil – basically the forces which promote growth, wisdom and evolution and those ever-present sinister forces which across the centuries try to subvert this. Which particular tools do we require in our arsenal to emerge victorious in this millennia-long conflict?

None of the weapons we use are physical. Instead they are based on insight, intuition and knowledge as well as resilience, persistence and an understanding of the crucial and catalytic importance of failure. Compassion, altruism and free-thinking are equally important elements in our armoury.

Wisdom of the Ages: a whistle-stop tour

Down the millennia tiny numbers of advanced and enlightened people have known a much wider truth about human existence and the unfoldment of the universe. Crude fragments of this knowledge can be found littering all the world’s religions – usually heavily disguised and normally incomprehensible to most people. Over the past century and a half some of this wisdom has emerged into the wider public domain but embracing it still remains a minority pursuit.

In this session we will look at how this esoteric knowledge of ourselves and the cosmos was taught to a select few in the Mystery Schools of India, Egypt, Greece and the Middle East. We will see how it was preserved by the neo-Platonists, alchemists, Rosicrucians and globalised by the theosophical movement. And we will explore what we know of the hidden hierarchy of adepts who still preserve this knowledge and preside over human affairs.

The Grand Synthesis

The Ageless Wisdom consists of fascinating and timeless ideas, which heavily disguised in superstition, symbol and myth, underpin all spiritual traditions as well as science and philosophy. This perennial philosophy has been emerging over the past decades as an exciting alternative to the dead-letter dogmas of religion and science, although some of the more adventurous and far-sighted members of the scientific community are now seriously investigating some of its ideas. Not only are the re-emergence of these ideas helping to accelerate human psycho-spiritual development, they are helping create a vital synthesis to produce a new spiritual science and a scientific understanding of spirituality. Traditional religions still largely reject these notions.

Convergence & Consensus of a New Consciousness

Powerful new energies are sweeping across the planet as we enter a dynamic new cycle of activity and progress – producing crisis and conflict on the one hand, but also a major uplift in human consciousness. Gradually, imperceptibly even, increasing numbers of people are looking beyond the material for answers and for an exploration of their own identity as spiritual beings in physical bodies. Both science and religion offer few answers as to the nature of this spiritual consciousness. So we have to look elsewhere for explanations – not least inside our own minds. Over the past century there has been a huge expansion of human consciousness. This is continuing to accelerate as human beings discover and explore this new sixth sense – intuition.

Only One Dolce Vita

It can get lonely here on the physical plane with many people experiencing a sense of separation, disconnected from themselves, others, their environment and the universe of which they are an integral part. This sense of isolation is illusory because there is only one life throughout the whole universe. Everything is connected and so All Is One. So whether you’re a star, a snowflake or a spiritual seeker from Yorkshire, you’re part of this intimately interconnected reality which pervades everything. By studying and understanding this body of ancient, hidden knowledge it is possible to reintegrate ourselves with this all-encompassing reality as we continue our own eternal evolutionary journey.

The Secret Universe

The universe is not “a fortuitous concurrence of atoms” as H. P. Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society, put it. It is unfolding intelligently and with purpose. Scientific knowledge about the cosmos has expanded hugely in recent decades but its knowledge remains partial because it refuses to recognise realities other than the physical. However, some scientific researchers are recognising what the Ageless Wisdom has always taught – there is no such thing as empty space or dead matter. The universe is teaming with life driven by hidden energies and a universal consciousness. Much of this is invisible to our limited physical senses and so we have to use other means to understand its workings.

Evolution & the Grand Plan

Whether we like it or indeed accept it, each and every one of us is on an eternal journey moving in and out of physical incarnations with a single goal – perpetual evolution. But this isn’t evolution the way fundamental Christians or materialistic scientists see it. The Ageless Wisdom tells us that we can, if we’re prepared to make the effort, significantly accelerate our own evolution in a given physical lifetime. Evolution doesn’t happen by chance; it is certainly not a series of random accidents. It is underpinned by a Grand Plan, which we need to increasingly understand and actively help to unfold. And our own personal development is an intimate part of a greater planetary and cosmic evolution.

Far More Than Flesh & Bone

There’s much more to us as human beings than merely our physical bodies. And surprising as it may seem, our minds extend far beyond the grey matter of our brains. Human beings are highly evolved, hugely complex entities with a seven-fold constitution – a microcosm of the universe. Six of these vehicles are invisible. Four are transient and three form our eternal essence at the very core of the diverse physical bodies we choose in successive lives. Understanding these concealed aspects of ourselves not only helps us operate more effectively in the world around us but greatly assists our own psycho-spiritual development. Identifying these hidden aspects of ourselves ensures that we can take greater control of our own destinies.

Once You’re Dead You’re Made for Life

Death is a myth. But many, believing it to be extinction and annihilation, find it a truly terrifying prospect. In fact, death is the crowning triumph of life in a physical body. We’ve all died many times before as part of an endless cycle in which we periodically return to Earth with fresh bodies and personalities to pursue our endless evolution. Death is as crucial as birth in the life process. When we understand it we no longer fear it. The life we live now has been shaped by our thoughts, words and deeds in previous lives. This is karma – the law of cause and effect – which is about restoring equilibrium rather than punishing or rewarding. Karma and reincarnation are intimately interconnected. When we begin to accept this we can begin to shape our next life right now.

Death & Beyond: A Beginner’s Guide

Dying shouldn’t be regarded as a tragedy but a triumph – the culmination of a life well-lived and a gateway to exciting new realms of existence. Death is no big deal – it’s the universe’s way of telling you that it’s the end of a cycle and it’s time to move on. But what exactly happens when we leave our physical bodies? Where do we go? What’s the scenery like?Who else are we likely to meet there? What, if anything, do we take with us? And what do we get up to in these non-physical post-mortem realms? How long do we remain in the after-death states? How do we decide how and when to return to physical existence in flesh and bone? Since individual and collective karma is involved, it’s certainly not a one-size-fits-all experience. But it is exclusively up to you.

Cycles of Eternity

It’s a paradox. Eternity lasts forever but nothing stays the same even for the tiniest fraction of a second. All life proceeds in cycles – long ones spanning the life of a galaxy, planet or species and much shorter ones such as the life of an individual human being, night and day or even a heartbeat. Understanding these greater and lesser cycles gives us a much keener perception not only of ourselves but the universe itself. All cycles proceed in exactly the same way – birth, growth, maturity, decline and death. At present humanity is on the cusp between the Ages of Pisces and Aquarius. The dramatic change in the types of energy pervading the planet is behind many of the momentous changes, conflicts and crises we are now witnessing.

Anatomy of the Hidden Hierarchies

They’re recognised by all cultures and go by strange names such as devas, djinns, elementals, fairies and mahatmas? But who are they exactly and what influence do they have on the world around us? The fact that most are largely invisible to physical sight does present some difficulties but there are emerging ways of perceiving and even interacting with these hidden entities. Our universe is crammed with life – hierarchies within hierarchies – some subordinate to the human kingdom and some very far in advance of it. Just like any complex organization, the universe is divided into many specialized departments, each with a specific job to do. Welcome to a whistle-stop tour of those beings you didn’t even know you didn’t know.

The Cycles of Necessity – Karma & Reincarnation

Of all the esoteric doctrines, the intimately connected laws of karma and re-birth are probably the most crucial to us at this time. Constant reincarnation in new physical bodies is central to our evolution. Karma, the law of cause and effect, is there to restore equilibrium. Each and every one of our lives is shaped by our thoughts, words and deeds from our previous excursions in human form. Recognising karma means that we can begin to take charge of our own destinies right now. It means taking absolute responsibility for our ideas, behaviour and conduct in order to promote our own spiritual evolution. There is no escape from karma. It is the ultimate reality and progress comes from learning to co-operate with it.

Exploring Nature’s Kingdoms

Occult ideas tell us that everything from a snowflake to a star is busy evolving into something else. Over vast aeons of time rocks evolve into plants, plants develop into animals and animals eventually become part of the human kingdom. Human beings are destined to join an even more elevated species. We’re talking unimaginably long time-scales here. Alongside the four main kingdoms are other unseen departments of form-builders directed by advanced beings with super-human consciousness and moulding the world we perceive around us. These are the elder brethren who have graduated from physical lives on Earth and now help to co-ordinate and direct planetary evolution, a task we ourselves will undertake one day.

Life on the Seven Levels

Most people confine their perception to what they receive from their five physical senses. The problem is that these are extremely limited offering fragmentary information. Many members of the animal kingdom have far more highly attuned sight, hearing and smell than we do. And yet most rely exclusively on these inadequate senses to look at themselves and the wider world. The Ageless Wisdom tells us that human beings consist of seven bodies including the physical. These correspond to the seven planes of existence throughout the universe. Once we have discovered the existence of these other areas we can begin to explore those unseen planes of reality. When we do, we begin to build up a far more complete picture not only of ourselves but the wider universe.

A Brief History of Man

How long have human beings been around on Planet Earth? Some Christian fundamentalists insist that it’s all very recent – a mere 6,000 years since God got to work, totally ignoring all geological and fossil evidence to the contrary. Science plays a much longer game, admitting that human existence goes back perhaps a couple of million years, although these figures are constantly being revised backwards. In stark contrast, the Ageless Wisdom takes a much more elongated view of human evolution than either Western religions or the neo-Darwinists. It identifies the start of human consciousness at a point far, far earlier, charting the gradual development of man through a series of development groups often referred to as root races. We’ve been around a long time and yet we have only just embarked on this endless journey.

Hidden Forces & Latent Human Powers

Everything is consciousness masquerading as energy and matter. Science has identified four main forces – electro-magnetic, gravity and strong- and weak-nuclear. As yet unseen by the microscope or particle accelerator are other exotic subtle energies identified by esoteric seekers down the ages and which science has yet to re-discover. These go by such names as etheric energy, kundalini, fohat, prana and ch’i. The Ageless Wisdom has always recognised how these subtle yet powerful energies shape and power the universe and everything in it. Science, too, is beginning to gain a greater understanding of forces it has neither been able to see, categorise or measure but this will change. Etheric energy especially offers huge potential for mankind – providing it isn’t harnessed for military purpose or crass commercial gain.

All Change – Harmony through Impermanence & Conflict

Many supposedly “spiritual” people shy away from conflict believing it to be the enemy of spiritual evolution whereas itcould well be its closest ally. Conflict is often necessary to destroy the old order to make way for progressive evolutionary change. The 20th Century with its wars, social upheavals and technological progress, also signalled the biggest expansion of human consciousness the world has ever seen. The Ageless Wisdom teaches us that nothing remains the same even for the tiniest fragment of time. Everything is in constant change, becoming something greater. And yet change can be uncomfortable. All dynasties, cultures and civilizations rise and fall, giving way to more suitable systems for raising our consciousness and capabilities. The perma-change in our world today is not a threat but the biggest opportunity ever.

Basking in the Seven Rays

Although still controversial for some esotericists, there is a growing recognition of the pivotal creative role of major cosmic forces which individually and collectively shape human beings and the wider physical world. These Seven Rays – three major forces of “aspect” and four lesser ones of “attribute” – mould the visible and unseen planes of existence. Each of us has a unique blended ray-structure which directly influences all elements of our lives and destinies. These rays also shape the history of the world. For example, the sixth ray of devotion which characterised the outgoing Age of Pisces is being quickly overtaken by the seventh ray of ceremonial order and magic, the dominant influence of the emerging Age of Aquarius.

Big Beasts of the Occult World

Although massively influential in occult circles and in determining the societies in which they lived, many of the individuals reinterpreting and disseminating esoteric ideas remain largely unknown to the public. Many are derided, ridiculed and falsely accused of fraud. All have been influenced and overshadowed by a hidden hierarchy of advanced individuals operating largely behind the scenes. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the 19th century aristocrat who founded The Theosophical Society, although hugely controversial, spearheaded the re-emergence of ancient but crucial ideas long concealed from view. Other individuals such as Colonel Henry Olcot, Annie Besant, Charles Leadbeater and Krishnamurti successfully globalized this newly re-synthesised knowledge. Others such as Rudolf Steiner and Alice Bailey created exotic variants. We shall look at these figures and others who blazed a new trail.

Alchemy: The Eternal Art-Science of Transformation

Mention alchemy and you picture bearded Medieval men forlornly trying to make a quick buck turning lead pipes into gold.Today most alchemy takes place in the world’s great financial centres as bankers manipulate money into ever more exotic variations. Alchemy is certainly the science of transformation not only on the physical but all other unseen planes of existence. For the past century science has been able to manipulate matter, turning one element into another. But there is much more to it than that. Alchemy is not a get-rich-quick scheme but a strictly spiritual science of self-transformation in which individuals transmute the lower aspects of their natures into nobler and higher ones. You can do it – and you don’t even need a test-tube.

Life on the Razor’s Edge: An Esoteric Adventurer’s Guide

So you want to be a spiritual explorer and delve into those realms some scientists don’t yet admit? Does it necessitate giving up all those things you enjoy and retreating to a cave for the next 20 years? In a word, no. Stepping on to the spiritual path is about the most difficult thing you can do. It won’t make life easier. You won’t be walking around with an ear-to-ear grin. In all probability, things will get more challenging. Choosing this steep route does involve renunciation – especially outdated ideas and outmoded notions of who we are. It means junking the prevailing view of reality in favour of something radically – and sometimes shockingly – different. It may mean painful choices and agonising decisions in order to accelerate your progress. But as every keep fit enthusiast will tell you, “There’s no pain without gain.”